How to cut laminate when laying
Drill and electric screwdriver
A drill or an electric screwdriver are not the main tools for laying laminate, but are often used to make cutouts for pipes and communications, as well as when installing skirting boards and thresholds after laying the laminate.
A circular saw
A circular saw produces a smoother laminate cut than a jigsaw, and much faster. However, working with such a tool requires a lot of attention and is much more dangerous. Therefore, it is recommended to use a circular saw only for those who have the skills and experience in handling such a tool, or have thoroughly familiarized themselves with the operating procedure by watching the video.
Usually, the circular saw for laminate flooring is used only by professionals with very large volumes of work. At home, this tool is rarely used due to its high cost, bulkiness and the risk of injury.
As with the jigsaw, to cut laminate flooring, the circular saw must be fitted with a blade designed for this particular procedure. The cut is made face up with smooth movements in the longitudinal or transverse direction.
As an epilogue
The choice of tools for cutting laminate flooring is quite large. Indeed, it is possible to cut laminate boards with high quality, with experience, with almost anything. Only the amount of time and labor spent will be different. Therefore, when making a choice in favor of one of the tools, focus only on your own preferences and needs.
- AnastasyaF11
Choosing cutting tools for laminate flooring
The main characteristics that a tool for cutting a laminate at home should have are:
- Ease of use
- compactness and low weight
- the ability to obtain an even cut, without cracks and chips
The last point, the meaning of which is not to spoil the appearance of the laminate board after cutting, is decisive for most DIYers. However, its significance is still exaggerated. In any case, chips up to 5 mm in size on the finished coating will not be noticeable. defects along the edge of the panels will disappear behind the skirting boards.
So what are the best tools for cutting laminate flooring??
Before sawing laminate flooring using the tools available, there are many factors to consider: the thickness of the lamellas, the weight of the electrical equipment, and the ease of use. Using the recommendations specified in the article, you can cut the building material so that the edge of the boards turns out to be even and without chips.
Jigsaw tool
The best result in cutting laminate can be achieved by using a jigsaw for this purpose. It is a lightweight, very easy-to-use tool that will quickly be approached by any newbie master. Even a woman or a teenager. Cutting with a jigsaw is carried out at high speeds, which avoids damage to the structure of the fibreboard. If you act at the same time quickly, confidently, then the cut will turn out to be almost perfect.
The main thing in using a jigsaw is the choice of the file. Modern tools are usually initially supplied with special files for cutting laminate. They are distinguished by a special shape, pitch and way of setting the teeth. However, ordinary metal files. narrow, with small teeth will cope with this business just as well.
How to install laminate flooring beading
In order not to damage the decorative surface, the cutting line is applied (with a pencil or chalk) to the wrong side of the laminate board. It is laid on a table (chair) with the wrong side up so that the part that is planned to be cut is in a suspended state. They fix the laminate lying on the table with one hand, and quickly cut off the excess part with the other.
The jigsaw allows you to cut laminate flooring quickly and safely
Circular Saw Tool
A neat cut along the edge of the laminate can be obtained using a circular saw with a metal disc. A circular saw is more difficult to work with than a jigsaw, so it requires some skill. If you have them, then it will be possible to cut the laminate quickly, evenly, practically without chips.
The laminate board is laid on a hard surface with a pattern upward, secured. You need to cut carefully, with slight pressure moving the disk along the drawn line, trying not to slow down in one place.
A circular saw requires dexterity, but helps to cut high quality laminate flooring
About choosing a tool
Cutting the laminate must be done with good quality so that the line of the cut is straight and even and the edge remains intact. All of these steps are fairly easy to accomplish by choosing the right laminate cutting tool. An example of the right choice is the fact that not every person can cope with a professional tool, so he should use simpler tools with which he will do this work more accurately.
Power Tools: Jigsaw
Electric jigsaw is an extremely convenient, simple tool
This tool is number one in most classifications. There are several reasons for this. The electric jigsaw is an extremely convenient, simple, easy-to-use, very effective tool. Therefore, when looking for a solution to the problem, the better to cut the laminate, many people stop at the jigsaw.
Even a beginner can use it, even female hands can handle it. And the result will be more than high-quality: the cut will be perfect, even, smooth, since the jigsaw produces a large number of revolutions. The main thing here is to choose the right file. Usually, in a set with a jigsaw, there are also components exclusively for the laminate. They have a special shape, pitch, set of teeth. But an ordinary file designed for metal can also cut the planks: with small narrow teeth.
Important! To properly shorten the panel with a jigsaw, lay it on a flat surface with the wrong side up.
Thanks to the jigsaw, the cut will be perfect, even, smooth
On the wrong side, all the markings should be done, that is, draw the line of the cut. How to cut the laminate if you don’t have a jigsaw to get an equally perfect cut? You can use a circular.
Tool selection
How can laminate flooring be cut? Each craftsman has his own criteria by which he chooses a cutter for panels. Someone cares about its weight, work from the mains or exclusively by hand. Someone will choose from a variety of options the smallest tool, convenient and mobile. But for most masters of any level, thinking about how to cut a laminate when laying, an ideal cut, the ability to quickly execute it, will still be important. We list all the tools designed for working with laminate planks, designate the characteristics of each of them.
How to install laminate flooring around doors and cabinets.
To get the plank of the right size, length, shape, there are several different electrical and manual units. When asked how to cut laminate flooring, experts give at least 7 answer options:
To get a plank of the right size, length, shape, there are several different electrical and manual units.
- electric jigsaw;
- circular saw;
- angle grinder or angle grinder;
- hacksaw;
- a cutter;
- construction knife;
- an ordinary clerical knife.
Almost any of these tools will be able to get a smooth cut. Naturally, if you have the appropriate experience of handling. There is no single recommendation on how to cut laminate flooring at home, what to use more correctly or professionally, in this situation. Each master is guided exclusively by his own experience and practice. Therefore, we will begin in order to disassemble each of the above.
Power tools: circular saw
This tool will indeed give an equally perfect cut than a jigsaw, but it is much more difficult to work with it. Therefore, a circular should be picked up exclusively by those who have decent practical experience, or those who have read, reviewed a large number of materials on how to cut a laminate. There are a lot of videos with this name on the network.
Laminate Installation- Cutting laminate flooring around a doorjamb
The circular should be handled exclusively by those who have decent practical experience.
If the choice fell on an angle grinder, a disc for metal should be installed. He will cut the tree best. Before cutting, the panels are fixed on a perfectly flat surface, but in this case the wrong side must be on top. The disc in the process will not get stuck in the board or slip. All movements should be performed smoothly, without haste, special pressure. However, skill is still required here. If there are no other options, it is better to first practice on construction waste, before cutting the material needed for laying, which is called “fill your hand”. But if you still want to learn how to properly cut laminate, but do not have experience with circulars, give preference to a jigsaw.
Hand tools: hacksaw
Working with a hacksaw will require some physical effort.
If you are puzzling over what kind of file or jigsaw to cut laminate flooring in small quantities, an ordinary hacksaw can help you. The only thing you should be prepared for is that working with such a tool will require some physical effort. In addition, it is a mistake to think that for cutting wood you should choose a hacksaw with large teeth for wood. They will only “rip” and crush the board, break the fragments out of it. To prevent this from happening, you should choose exclusively a hacksaw for metal. with small, often located teeth.
A hacksaw is not suitable as the main tool, so professional teams do not use it. The disadvantages of using are the following: low productivity, high physical costs, the danger of material damage. But in some cases, when it is not advisable to cut the laminate with an angle grinder or a jigsaw, when the volume of material is small, a hacksaw can even come in handy.
Professional tools: cutter
This tool is distinguished by an impressive design, narrow application, since the cutter is used exclusively for working with laminate. This is a professional, rather expensive manual device that does not require any skills or physical strength from the user.
The cutter is used exclusively for working with laminate
The cutter is distinguished precisely by the fact that it cuts planks like a super sharp knife but butter. Outwardly, it resembles a guillotine, therefore, when cutting, you need to make movements in the direction from top to bottom. When, before laying the material, the question arises of how to cut the laminate, the thought about the cutter arises almost in the last turn, since because of its narrow specialization, not everyone knows about it. And after that, its efficiency and power are quite surprising. Appointment “under the laminate” is not the only “minus” of the cutter.
Important! It is possible to work with the cutter with planks only in the transverse direction.
It does not cut the panels along or figuratively, but it works quickly and simply.